I've attempted to pass on some lessons learned after 55 years living on the Central Gulf Coast..

for Hurricane Donna in 62 we had about 2 days notice, lost both power and water.. extreme debris (septic tanks and caskets were popping out of the ground) and flooding...local river was 12' over the bridge railing..the one local grocery store was stripped bare of goods...no local hospitals or emergency service..it was an important teachable moment

infrastructure and warning and communication options have much improved since then

there is a reason I choose to live where I do, and hurricane season is part of the package...

I live about 3miles from the Gulf, but at 34' elevation..my personal emergency plan is to stay through a Cat 3 and evacuate to a relative's home (built to post Andrew code)following the "run from the water, and hide from the wind" dictum

I try to improve my preparedness a little each year...the O4 season was unique..three storms in about a month's time..and significant length of power outage....trying to sleep in the extreme heat was the greatest challenge...especially if you are used to air conditioning, and prepare for work at 6am..an open house with neighbor's generators running added to the challenge..

I added a class session of leassons learned with my students after each storm, and edited my hurricane preparedness lab, and 72 hour go bucket labs....you get a different viewpoint talking to 150 14year olds...

I tend to think of more pragmatic, day to day challenges, and welcome the opportunity to help

member of the Gator Nation since 1974